Brighton

Performance: 25/07/17 New Venture Theatre’s Short Play Festival featured six new 15-20 minute plays by new writers, brought to life by six directors and a cast of 16. Spanning a diverse range of genres, the Festival boasted stories of love, death, fame, sex, acceptance and pathos that made for a rich and engaging tableau of storytelling. Sorry By Amy Onyett…read more

Proof, an acclaimed drama by American playwright David Auburn, explores grief, mental illness and family ties against an academic and mathematical backdrop. It is a family drama that shows the weight of genius, and the difficulty of trying to prove oneself and find validation in the people around us or from a world that thrives on insecurity. Catherine (Marie Ellis),…read more

Performance: 16/06/17 Proof, an acclaimed drama by David Auburn, explores grief, mental illness and family ties against an academic and mathematical backdrop. Catherine, daughter of a celebrated mathematician, Robert, is mourning his recent death after an undefined battle with mental illness. Catherine struggles with the loss of her father while also trying to step out of his shadow and prove…read more

Walking into The Warren’s Studio 2 to the sounds of Vengaboys, Avril Lavigne and Gwen Stefani, it was clear I was in for an hour-long nostalgia hit. Split tells the story of Charlotte and Ellie, who meet on the first day of secondary school, and shows the ups and downs of their friendship from that moment through to their Year…read more

The STAC @ Northbrook Showcase featured 14 Musical Theatre Degree students, advertising their many performance talents in just over an hour of song and dance. The fourteen-strong company deftly tackled material across a wide range of classic and contemporary styles, from haunting numbers from Carrie and Sweeney Todd to the sugar-sweet harmonies of Waitress. The showcase also featured a number of well-arranged…read more

Performance: 28/05/17 In a time of pre-war political tension, gone are the days of frothy fashion journalism for Pamela More, a feisty and glamorous Times journalist who stubbornly prioritises haute-couture over Hitler. However, the scandalous abdication crisis of 1936 and the looming possibility of war forces her to look beyond the hats and furs and she is abruptly launched into…read more

The year is 1888, and Jack the Ripper is at large. Inspector Abberline is on the case trying to catch a murderer who is proving impossible to catch, all the while his frustrated wife drifts from him, his boss piles on the pressure, and the press whips up trouble from all sides. The pairing of the subject matter and musical form…read more

Performance: 18/05/17 If your skirt is too short, you're a slut. If you cover up, you're a prude. If you show just a little, you're a tease. In a world where judgement and blame will follow women around no matter how they choose to live their lives, it is a shame to say that Lulu, a controversial play originally written by Frank Wedekind…read more

Performance: 13/05/17 Two decades of drought result in a ban on the use of private toilets, and citizens are forced to pay through the roof to use public amenities, a privilege we currently enjoy in the real world without the excuse of a drought. A classic story of underdog vs. megalomaniac corporation, Urinetown ticks all the musical clichés through witty…read more

Performance: 11/05/17 Statistically, January is the month in which tickets to musicals sell best, largely due to the miserable weather and post-Christmas blues. Two Singular Sensations, in the intimate Purple Playhouse Theatre, proved once again that in these gloomy times, both politically and weather-wise, musical theatre is an excellent antidote. As promised, an evening with great singing and exciting dance…read more